"He must've had a very intense nightmare" said Layla as she cradled a sobbing Piff. "I wonder what it was about."
"Teggy... can you tell us?"
Nothing.
"I might be able to help," said Anyuna, stepping forward. "I should be able to read his dreams - all of us Dream Realm fairies can."
With that, she knelt in front of him, placed her hands on his head and closed her eyes.
"It's cold... the sky is grey..." she began. "He's in a forest... by a lake... he's afraid... laying on his back, he's in terrible pain... he can't move... he's been attacked... "
"It's a flashback" gasped Musa, "He's dreaming of when he first came to this realm, when those damn witches nearly killed him!"
Anyuna continued.
"Yes... there are three girls standing in front of him... evil, so evil... a girl dressed all in black is coming forward... standing over him... she's saying something... he can barely hear it... 'I trust you haven't forgotten about me - I'll be seeing you soon'..."
"I'll be seeing you soon? Oh great - what are they up to now?"
"She's reaching towards him... towards his head... her hand is glowing... she touches him..." Anyuna winced. "The pain! He's in such terrible pain, worse than he's ever felt before! That... that's it... that's all I see."
"But why is he having such bad dreams?" asked Bloom, "He's been so happy lately."
"That dream was not his own," Anyuna said glumly, shaking her head. "Dark magic is at work here - it's as though something has invaded his mind."
"It's not the first time they've done that," said Musa, remembering the Trix's last attack on his dreams. "But he was able to defend himself so well back then - how were they able to overpower him this time?"
"Stronger," Tegryn mumbled, still trembling. "Their spell was stronger... too strong... I couldn't fight back..."
They sat him up on the sofa, and Flora handed him a cup containing her own herbal recipe. "Here, drink this, it'll help to sooth you."
Tegryn cradled the cup in his hands, taking small sips. "I'm so sorry about this... I hate being such a party pooper!" he joked weakly.
"How long have you been having these dreams?"
"About a week now. I've been getting them two or three times a night, but never this bad. They haven't actually said anything to me before though, they were just messing with my head."
"Oh Teggy," said Musa stifling a tear "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I didn't want to worry you. I was hoping I'd be able to get through this... looks like I was wrong. And to be honest I'm not sure what anyone could do about this."
"I have a spell that might be able to help you," said Tecna. "May I?"
Tegryn nodded. Tecna raised her hand - a field of energy enveloped Tegryn's head.
"It's a slight variation on my Firewall spell that I've been working on" she explained. "Instead of protecting the body, this will protect the mind, preventing unwanted intrusions in the same way a firewall program prevents unwanted intrusions into a computer."
"Well, it looks like you're going to be okay now," Riven said to Tegryn, patting him on the shoulder. "Thanks for inviting us... and if I see those witches, I'll give them a good kicking from you!"
Tegryn laughed. "Thanks mate."
"Okay, we'll see you guys round. We'd better be getting back - the last thing we need is a detention for staying out after hours."
Riven glanced towards Charlotte - Charlotte blushed and smiled shyly back at him.
The Juniors soon followed, leaving the girls as they tidied the room. Tegryn laid out on the sofa with his head resting on Musa's lap as she lovingly ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes, finally reaching some sort of tranquillity.
"Why would the witches still be bothered about you?" Musa wondered. "Surely they remember what happened last time. If they had half a brain cell between them, they'd be scared stiff of you! Your power is so awesome!"
"I wish that was true, but the only time I've been able to use that power was back in the cave when you were hurt - I was so angry and I couldn't control it. Ever since then, I've been trying to practice that attack but just I can't do it. And those witches... I just know they're planning something, and I wouldn't be much use in a fight unless you were badly hurt again... and I sure as hell don't want that to happen."
Musa sighed. "Let's just hope THEY don't know that."